


Bella

by SugdenLovesDingle



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: M/M, meet cute, vet Aaron
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:00:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24719446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SugdenLovesDingle/pseuds/SugdenLovesDingle
Summary: Aaron's first day as a fully qualified vet is an interesting one.
Relationships: Aaron Dingle/Robert Sugden
Comments: 2
Kudos: 50





	Bella

**Author's Note:**

> I originally wrote this for a valentines day gift exchange about two years ago but for some reason I never posted it on here. I don't remember why but I hope you still enjoy it!

Aaron is nervous. It’s crazy, he’s been hanging around the place since he was an angry teenager with a chip on his shoulder and knows it better than his own home… only now he’s the one in charge. The piece of paper on the wall says he knows what he’s doing but right now he can’t help but feel like the first day of school. Terrified and wishing his mum was there to tell him to just go play with the other kids.

Only he’s not a kid anymore and his mum isn’t there to hold his hand. He’s a grown man now and on the other side of the door there is a waiting room filled with people who want him to fix their pets. He’s not sure anymore why he ever wanted to be a vet.

“Ready for your first solo mission?” Vanessa asks, coming into the exam room and switching on the computer.

Aaron has known her for years, she’s worked with his step dad Paddy for as long as he can remember and he’s never been more glad she offered to be his back up his first few weeks instead of Paddy himself.

“I’m terrified.” He admits and she smiles.

“I remember being like that on my first day. But you know this practice and the patients. And you know we would have stopped Paddy from hiring you if we didn’t think you were the right guy for the job.”

Aaron nods.

“I know. But I’m still terrified. Thankfully I have you to make sure I won’t kill anyone’s pet rabbit.” He laughs a little but they both know he means it.

“You’ll be fine. And your first patient is a dog. Called… Benji.” Vanessa says, checking the computer. “Benji Barton. New patient coming in for a check-up. Easy start of the first day.”

“Right.” Aaron says and mentally prepares himself to open that door and call in the owner.

“Look at it this way, new patients don’t know you as the trouble maker or Paddy’s boy.” Vanessa tells him and reminds him once again why he loves working with her.

He calls in the dog and family and while the dog is friendly enough and calmly lets Aaron examine him, the family, a mother and son, seem to be eager to get it all over and done with.

Vanessa makes small talk with them to get their personal information while Aaron works. Both to calm them down and to take the attention away from Aaron.

It turns out they’re farmers and have just bought the farm just outside the village village.

“Well Benji is perfectly healthy.” Aaron concludes and lifts the dog from the table. “We’ve got your information on file now so next time we’ll know who you are right away.”

“And one of us will be round to check over your cows sometime this week.” Vanessa adds.

“Alright. Thanks doc. Docs? Are you both doctors?” The son asks, looking back and forth between Aaron and Vanessa.

“Yeah, she’s my boss.” Aaron tells him.

We’re all equals here.” Vanessa says. “He’s just the newbie so I’m supervising. Though there’s no need. He’s a great vet.”

The son grins.

“Looks like you’re doing alright mate, if the boss is boosting your ego like that.”

Aaron shakes hands with both the mother and the son and leans against the closed door for a few seconds after they leave.

“So, first patient down. How are the nerves?” Vanessa asks.

“I’m alright. So far so good.”

The rest of the day goes by without any difficult cases. Though unfortunately most people do know him way too well and he spends more time telling his story and answering questions about his family, than actually examining his patients.

“Well… that was the last one. Waiting room is empty.” He says happily but Vanessa winces at his words. “What?”

“Don’t say that. Saying that means disaster is about to strike and we will not be going home early.”

“Hello?! Can I get some help here please?!” Someone calls out, sounding panicked and they rush into the waiting room.

“I need help.” A blond man carrying what looks like a bunch of bloody towels says desperately.

“Come through.” Aaron says, ushering the man into the exam room. “What’s wrong?”

The man puts the towels down on the table and carefully peels them away to reveal a cat. Or rather a bloody mess of fur that starts wailing in pain at the slightest touch.

“It’s my sister’s cat. I don’t know what happened. I just got home from the shop and found her like this.”

Aaron peels away the rest of the towels and quickly examines the cat’s wounds.

“Alright. It looks like she’s been attacked. Probably by a dog.”

“She’s an outdoor cat.” The man explains. “But she does come inside too. I was only gone for an hour at most.”

“She’s in good hands.” Vanessa tells him. “Is your sister registered here?”

“I don’t know. I’m only looking after her cats while she’s on holiday with her friends.” The man answers, not taking his eyes off the cat. “Can you save her?”

“We’ll do what we can.” Aaron answers and injects the cat with some pain relief. “This is to sedate her so I can examine her better.” He explains. “What’s her name?”

“Grizabella.”

“Victoria Sugden, Keepers Cottage, Emmerdale?” Vanessa asks after checking the name in the computer

“Yes, that’s it. I’m her brother Robert. Please fix her cat.”

“I’m going to take her for some x-rays and she’ll probably need surgery.” Aaron tells him. “You can wait outside or leave your number with Pearl at the front desk and we’ll ring you if there’s any news.

“I’m staying. I’m not going anywhere. I asked the neighbours to feed the other two. I’m staying.”

“Alright. I’ll come find you when I know more.” Aaron says, gently steering Robert out into the waiting room.

It’s almost two hours later when Aaron comes to find Robert.

“How is she? She’s not dead is she?”

“No she’s not dead.” Aaron says, sitting down next to Robert. “We cleaned her wounds and repaired the damage best as we could.”

“But…” Robert prompts “Am I going to have to call my sister to tell her I got her cat killed?”

“I wouldn’t go that far just yet. Vanessa is just cleaning her up and getting her comfortable, you can come see her if you like.”

Robert nods and follows him through to the recovery room.

“She’s still out of it but it’s best to let her wake up on her own.” Vanessa explains. “We’re keeping her warm and nicely doped up on painkillers.

Robert walks up to the cage the cat is in and gently scratches her head.

“Hey Bella, please be alright… for your mum… and me.”

“Aaron I have to go pick up Johnny, will you be alright here?” Vanessa asks softly while Robert is distracted.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. Go.”

“So uhm… what happens now?” Robert asks a few minutes later.

“Now… we wait. I’ll check on her while I’m still cleaning up here and then see how she’s doing tomorrow morning.” Aaron explains “I live just upstairs so I can check on her during the night too.” He adds when he sees the look on Robert’s face. “I promise I’ll call you the second something changes.”

“Right… yes… I uh… I don’t want to leave her…”

“I’ll take good care of her.”

“Can I just… stay a little longer?”

“Sure. I have some stuff to do here anyway.” Aaron says and gives him a smile. He busies himself cleaning up the operating room and catching up on some paperwork before going back to check on Robert and Grizabella.

“She woke up but she’s not really moving.” Robert tells him when he sees him.

“She’s pretty doped up.” Aaron replies and quickly checks the cat “That’s a good thing. She’s not in any pain this way.” He sits down next to Robert on the floor and neither of them speak for a while.

“I can’t believe I almost got my sister’s cat killed a week after moving in and 3 days after she left to go on holiday.”

“It was an accident. Surely your sister knows that.”

“I haven’t told her yet. I want to let her enjoy her holiday. That’s the least I can do after she let me move in with her.”

“Having a rough time right now?” Aaron guesses.

“Yeah. It’s my own fault though. My ex and I broke up… because I cheated on her… with her PA.”

“Classy.”

Robert shrugs.

“I’m not proud of it. He wasn’t worth the drama… but her and me, we were all wrong for each other really.”

Aaron raises his eyebrows at the male pronouns.

“He?”

“I’m bi.” Robert explains. “They say it’s double the options but it’s really only double the drama… or maybe that’s just me.”

Aaron chuckles.

“I know all about drama. My first boyfriend died and the guy I dated in university left to go play rugby in France.”

They sit and talk for a while and discover they share a love for cars and dodgy reality tv.

“I always told my mother my first car would be a Porsche.” Robert says, leaning his head back against the wall. “That didn’t exactly happen… but when I finally bought one she was the first person I told.”

“She must’ve been proud.”

Robert nods.

“I hope so. She died when I was 15.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

“It’s a long time ago. It’s fine.”

Just as Aaron wants to invite Robert up to his flat above the practice, Robert’s phone beeps.

“I should go.” He says after reading the message and pushes himself up from the ground. “The neighbours are watching the other two cats.”

“I’ll call you first thing with an update.” Aaron promises and walks Robert out.

Over the next few days Robert spends a lot of time at the practice as the cat slowly improves and Aaron discovers he’s actually a really fun guy to talk to. And fit. Definitely fit.

“I called Vic this morning.” Robert says after taking a sip from his coffee. It’s Aaron’s lunch break and a slow day at the practice so they have plenty of time to chat.

“Yeah? What did she say?”

“Wanted to come home right away.” Robert says and they both laugh. “But I talked her out of that. I told her the best vet in Yorkshire is taking care of her cat.”

Aaron ducks his head and chuckles.

“I don’t know about that. I only graduated university about a month ago.”

“And you’re already the best. Wow. Lucky Bella.”

“Shut up.”

“You’re a miracle worker, really. I was convinced Bella was going to die.. but here she is, getting better every day. Thanks to you.”

“I’m just doing my job. It’s no big deal.”

“Aaron, I need your help for a minute.” Paddy says, suddenly appearing in the doorway to the small recovery room.

“Duty calls.” Aaron says to Robert and gets up. When he finishes Robert is gone but there is a note stuck to Grizabella’s cage.

Drinks? Friday at 8?

Aaron smiles and pulls his phone out of his pocket and dials Robert’s number.

“You could have asked me out in person, you know?” He says when Robert answers on the second ring.

“You were busy! I didn’t want to interrupt.”

“So you let your cat do it for you?”

“Well… I figured you wouldn’t turn down an injured cat.”

“Oh it’s Grizabella that wants to have a drink with me? I thought it was you.”

Robert laughs and mutters something that sounds a lot like an insult under his breath.

“I’d love to. Go for a drink with you on Friday.” Aaron says after listening to each other breathing and grinning at the phone.

“Yeah? There is a pub near the practice. The Kings… something… Meet you there?”

“It’s a date.”

~2 years later~

“Alright Ms Wilson, Angel should be back to his old self in no time. If you have any questions, feel free to stop by or give us a call.” Aaron says, holding his exam room door open to let his last patient of the morning leave. It’s just past noon and he is looking forward to sitting down with a bowl of Robert’s homemade pasta and special sauce.

They’d officially moved in together after about 6 months of dating and even though they still lived above the practice and Paddy still doesn’t understand the concept of knocking and privacy, Aaron wouldn’t change a single thing about his life. He has a job he loves and a boyfriend he loves just as much, things just don’t get much better than that.

Suddenly the front door opens and Robert walks in carrying a bundle of towels.

“Hello?! Can I get some help here please?! Aaron?!”

Aaron snaps out of his thoughts and rushes over to his boyfriend.

“What’s going on? What happened?”

“It’s Bella.” Robert says and pushes past him into his exam room where he puts the bundle down on the table.

“What? What happened?”

“I think she got stuck in something.”

Aaron fears the worst as he carefully peels the towels away, only to find a perfectly happy and healthy Grizabella.

“Robert… what’s going on?”

Robert is smiling at him in a way that tells him he is up to something and Aaron is playing along perfectly.

“I don’t know doctor, you better examine her.”

Grizabella nudges Aaron’s hand with her head, the same way she always does when she wants his attention. He runs his hand over her back and scratches under her chin with the other.

“She’s absolutely fine, Rob, what’s going on?”

“I think there’s something with her neck. Her collar is a little weird.”

“There is only one thing weird here and that’s you.” Aaron says but gently feels along Grizabella’s neck to humour his boyfriend. “Her neck is fine.”

“Maybe you should take her collar off to take a better look.”

He sighs and takes her collar off.

“Still nothing.”

“I think I saw something on her collar on the inside.”

Aaron frowns but takes another look at the collar and notices something written on it.

“Will you.. - Is this a joke?” He says when he reads the phrase and looks up to Robert just in time to see him kneeling on the floor in front of him.

“It’s not a joke.” Robert says and holds up a simple silver ring. “Aaron Dingle, I love you, will you marry me?”


End file.
